Serra entered the game as the No. 1 seed, but Culver City’s Kevin Porche signifies that his team was No. 1 that night as he tied the game with this touchdown run. Photo by Ken Brooks.

By Jason LewisSentinel Sports Editor
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Typically the first round of the high school playoffs goes as planned. The higher seeds easily defeat the lower seeds, and in the City Section Division I bracket, that was the pretty much the case.

The only close game was between No. 6 Birmingham and No. 11 Arleta, which Birmingham won 21-18.

The only other game that was within 20 points was Carson’s 24-7 victory over Garfield.

The real action will now begin, as No. 1 San Pedro will have to host the two-time defending champions. Crenshaw slipped down the to the No. 8 seed after one point losses to Dorsey and West Adams.

The top seed in the playoffs normally gets a tough game in the second round, but San Pedro probably did not envision a match up with Crenshaw. These are two City powerhouse programs, and both teams slug it out on defense. This game has the makings of a classic.

No. 5 Carson at No. 4 Venice will be a prime time match up. Both teams took their lumps during tough non-league games, but year in and year out they are two of the toughest teams in the City Section.

This game matches up the two best wide receivers in the City. USC commit Darius Rogers of Carson and SMU commit Gabriel Marks of Venice. And both teams have playmakers all over their offenses, so this game should feature big play after big play.

In the Southern Section the first round went as planned for local teams. Well, for everybody except for Gardena Serra. Culver City entered the game as a clear underdog, but they left the game with a ticket to the second round of the playoffs after knocking off the No. 1 seed in the Division IV bracket.

Serra looked like they were going to roll after taking a 14-0 second quarter lead, but from that point on, it was all Culver City, who scored 21 unanswered points.

The game was tied at 14 at halftime, and Culver City scored the go ahead touchdown on their first drive on the third quarter.

Culver City took some unexpected lumps during the regular season, which put them in the underdog role. But they were picked to win their league before the season started, so they were not a slouch by any means. They showed that they are legitimate contenders.

FIRST ROUND RESULTS

Fairfax found out the hard way that Dorsey’s Jeremiah Allison, and the rest of Dorsey’s defense, hits very hard. Photo by Jason Lewis